A forum that examines problems undermining the development of Cameroon in particular and Africa in general, with a view to charting the way forward. The development of Africa is first and foremost an African task.

Am I strong enough to face the challenges of life?In other words, do I have my feet firmly on the ground?Or am I just one of those loose cannons who float and lurkAnd in the end, rant and moan and babble?Am I talking to someone? Are we together?Or am I a lone voice in the garden of TibatiIn search of greener pastures?And have I forgotten that today`s my child`s birthday?

I believe in godly harmony, not civil strifeThat`s when I`m in my element and on solid groundEven so, I`m neither, Mandela nor BurkeI don`t dabble in portfolios because I hate tittle-tattleI `m the compatible Pisces go-getterAnd all the princes call me the Beauty Princess from KribiI know about all kinds of recipes, although not fixturesAnd my secret at all times is one of making hay.

(To Mwalimu George Ngwane and the rest of us who were at the AFRICAPHONIE workshop on Art and Culture Journalism held at the Hotel Residence Carlos in Buea-Cameroon from the 21st to the 23rd of March 2011. It was three golden days never to be forgotten.)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This is art, alrightBut art with a differenceJust look at the symmetric contoursThe concentric and bubbled soundsThe tempered comic relief The jaded strobe lightsThe indented backgroundIt`s not oil on canvassBut you can see the subdued frescoesLike those of the Sistine ChapelCall them Velasquez` or Michael Angelo`s if you likeConsider the smoked silver filamentsIt`s all picturesque and enameledIt may not be Gothic or baroqueBut it`s deep and profound and scintillating Just watch sky-blue and pacific love birds as they neckLike the peace plant.

See how their golden vertical and horizontal lines blendOh! Don`t they march and merge and fuse and melt?They thaw out and liquefy into one, single liquid A slimy and viscous fluid which Claims its own place in the sunFor how can it miss out on this second Berlin?Forget about time, distance, speed and velocityWe are talking about architectureSo let`s all togetherGather it all up and hand it to humanityIt belongs to mankind.

Let`s return it to Mother Nature as we received itSoftSleekSublimeInnocuousMajesticFreshNewPureUnadulteratedUndefiledImmaculateVirginIntact.

That`s why here and now, todayAs we sit and deliberate on Carlos` throneWe know that South Africa, Ghana and Cameroon are oneUnited in intention and purposeIt`s several origins, one destinationSeveral voices, one meaningSeveral visions, one objectSeveral tongues, one expressionSeveral inspirations, one artOne lightOne energyOne sourceOne soulOne GodThe infiniteNothingnessZeroDissipationRegenerationBirthRebirth.

vendredi 25 mars 2011

Whatever happened to her at the moatI can`t tell franklyAll I can say is that she missed the boatDon`t ask me if she did so sadly.

With an aunt whose arms grow weak each dayAnd a second hand ticket no one wantsHow can anyone be surprised she sucks eggs with a spoon of clay?That`s why when I think of her I relapse into erotic chants.

Today as the tiny stations fly past like ElstreeAnd I in First Class am choked by hungry little facesI wonder whether even she could have remembered the freebie.If only she knew moats were far off hills, not good races!

He will not be thereWhen the time comesMark my words, the fool will be goneGone with the windAnd into the hidden caveThe lake of the Lake QueenWhere dinosaurs revelOn slimy stairs of goldAnd stunted jilted girlsDry out in the sunLike drunk river birds too lofty to swimIf we prefer to serve as fodder for the cannonWe shall be left behind, stranded and in tears.

Oh king of the universeLet your love flow down in reverseYou are the most highFor those who want to come nighYou who know our deepest thoughtsForgive us our tortsYou are our fortress, our refuge, our strengthFor to you we pay no rentStand by usSo that on D-Day we can all step forward without fuss.

I have stood out here long enoughEvery passing clown has noticed me, poor meSplashed with pig`s bloodBut I alone dry the tears of this nationOh! dream of the forgotten founding fathers!Was this your wish?

lundi 21 mars 2011

The glasses, the teeth and the lipsThose are the trump cards I holdBut perhaps that is only the tip of the icebergWhich is where our cherished STV comes inEven so, aren`t we all too slow for the flow?Have the loose ends at this Carlos Hotel workshop been tied up?Have all the `T`s been crossed and the `I`s been dotted?Or have the bosses simply papered over the cracks?

Despite our multiple stilts, I still need some tipsBecause as far as I know, I`m firmly back in the foldDespite the devastating gale from JohannesburgYou are my fresh fish without the finMy golden compass for the nation despite the foeForget about my shouting lipstick so finely lined upOr my Taurean obstinacy too closely knit to be transportedI move warily enough to avoid the Delegate`s cupid packs.

Why so much sorrow in the oracle`s heart of hearts?Why do cumulus and nimbus clouds gather momentum?Why do the hillside palace owls mourn?Why has the black smoke not fissured out?Why is our Fon still snoring?

If the young people of the village think tradition is only an artAnd thus reduce it to the age-old mbaghalumThen perhaps they`re living in the shrine roomIgnoring the calls of Maformusong for all to come outIf this goes on, shall we be saved from perishing?

I own no mango boughsAlthough I have worked in boroughsA child of a mangled pastSince the good old days with Chipimo in LusakaI hop in and out as I likeAnd the holy ground at all timesRemains the holy ground.

Yes,why on earth should she do it today?Did she do it yesterday?Why should the poor girl auction her bodyOnly to go to hell feet-bound?It`s Sunday morning in Las Vegas, you know?

While no one else is held at bayBut everyone hails everything made of clayAll your dirty mind sees are Easter eggs made shoddyAren`t you therefore one of those who houndHo hound and suck and fondle and throw?

What is the reason for which he "must go"? The constitution as it stands (right or wrong) , allows him to run again, if he wishes. Until the constitution is again revised to include terms that exclude his candidacy, I firmly believe that he has a right to run for president this year.

The only way he can be stopped is through the ballot box, And that is why new entrants to the presidential race such as Hon, Ayeah Paul, Mr Nfor Susungi and Kah Walla have stepped into the arena and are sharpening their voting tools.

To merely state that "Biya must go" without any tangible backing is to make a mockery of democracy and freedom of expression. I can understand if some people are fired up and want a change, "here and now". But then, just as emotions can be misleading in a game of football, they too can account for failure in politics.

Make a path and let others followDon`t just stand back and look askanceAfter all weren`t it for this film launch where angels lie fallowWhy would anyonwe go into a trance?

Life isn`t only Shakespeare`s sonnets all so hollowNo, it`s also an arena full of surprises and a firm stanceA platform where Taurean and Piscean of age frolick and wallowMelting into each other and hustling and jostling at the entrance.

Qui êtes-vous ?

I speak over twenty languages. I have native-level command of both French and English. In fact, after my higher education in France, I was recruited by France and seconded to a High School in London as a "French Mother Tongue" teacher, or what is commonly referred to as a Foreign Language Assistant. I am by training a journalist, teacher of French and Spanish, as well as a translator-interpreter. I studied in Cameroon, France and England.I have criss crossed Africa and Europe.I have worked as a journalist and teacher of French and Spanish in some United Kingdom High Schools, but especially in London. Today, I teach journalism at the University of Buea in Cameroon.
I have published books of poetry in English and French, some of which are official text books in Cameroonian schools. I am currently working on a collection of poems in Spanish and another in Ewondo, a variety of the Beti language spoken in three of Cameroon's ten regions as well as in parts of neighbouring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.